A battery rack is a structure for holding many individual batteries such that the batteries may be electrically-coupled to provide a power source for electronic systems. Battery power sources are frequently used, particularly in telecommunications applications, to provide a source of back-up power in the event of a loss of commercial power. The batteries, which should have the same nominal voltage rating, are coupled in parallel such that the total power capacity of the combination of batteries is equal to the sum of the amperage capacities of all of the batteries. For a given application, the minimum number of batteries required is thus a function of the amperage requirement of the system for which back-up power is to be provided.
The shelves in a conventional battery rack are vertically-spaced to accommodate the height of the batteries to be placed therein. Additional vertical space may be required if the battery terminals are located on top of the batteries, the additional space allowing for isolation between the terminals and the next-upper shelf as well as tool clearance for coupling/decoupling the batteries. Battery racks should also include a means for maintaining proper spacing between adjacent batteries.
The spacing between adjacent batteries when placed into a battery rack is crucial to the "health," or life-expectancy, of the batteries. During charging and discharging, the batteries generate heat which, if not dissipated, degrades battery performance and life-expectancy; proper spacing between batteries promotes cooling, thereby enhancing battery performance and life-expectancy. Conventional battery racks have employed locking or locating devices, such as brackets, to maintain proper spacing between adjacent batteries. Such conventional locating devices must be individually-secured to each battery-rack shelf, which typically requires the use of other mechanical means to secure the devices to the shelves. In a battery rack designed to accommodate many batteries, such locating devices must be coupled to each shelf between every battery location, thus requiring many parts and much labor.
During the installation, maintenance and servicing of battery power plants, batteries must be inserted and extracted from the battery rack. Because the batteries are typically quite heavy, it is important that the structure of the battery rack not impede or frustrate the insertion and extraction of batteries therefrom. Conventional locating devices, secured to each battery shelf to maintain proper spacing between adjacent batteries, are stationary devices. The stationary locating devices present a source of friction to a battery casing as a battery is inserted or extracted from the battery rack, thus impeding the insertion and removal of batteries from the battery rack. In addition, the non-movable locating devices may cause damage to a battery casing as the battery is inserted or extracted; if the casing is ruptured, caustic liquids may be released which can cause damage to the battery rack and other batteries, and which may cause injury to persons servicing the battery plant.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a battery rack employing locating devices, between the battery compartments thereof, which minimize the number of mechanical parts and labor required for installation thereof, and which do not present a significant source of friction to, or interference with, a battery casing during the insertion or extraction of a battery into or from the battery rack.